American Airlines warns 13,000 employees about possible licenses

American Airlines has issued an alert to approximately 13,000 employees that potential licenses may be coming in, as travel demand remains suppressed due to the continued impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

“We are in almost five weeks in 2021 and, unfortunately, we are in a similar situation to that of 2020,” American Airlines CEO Doug Parker and President Robert Isom wrote in a memo to employees on Wednesday. “As we closed last year with the successful extension of the Payroll Support Program (PSP), we fully believe that we would be facing a summer schedule in which we would fly all of our planes and would need all the strength of our team Unfortunately, this is no longer the case. The vaccine is not being distributed as quickly as any of us believed, and new restrictions on international travel that require customers to have a negative COVID-19 test have lowered demand. “

According to the memorandum, the airline will begin issuing warnings of readjustment and retraining of the worker (WARN) on Friday. Although WARN notices are generally required 60 days in advance by law, notices do not guarantee that notified workers will lose their jobs.

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American estimates it will fly at least 45 percent less in the first quarter compared to the same period in 2019 and, based on the current demand outlook, will not fly with all of its aircraft this summer, as originally planned.

“Of course, this is not where we want to be and we will work with union leadership to do everything we can to mitigate the impact on work as much as possible,” added the executives.

The Americans released 19,000 workers after the first round of government payroll support expired on October 1, but withdrew them in December, after another $ 15 billion passed by Congress. The new round of federal aid requires airlines to keep employees off payroll until March 31.

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However, airline unions are now seeking an additional $ 15 billion in federal support for the industry to support their workers through September 30.

“We fully support the efforts of our union leaders to fight for an extension and we will lend our time and energy to support this effort in any way we can,” said Parker and Isom. “Our country’s leaders understand the vital role that airline workers play to keep the country moving. They showed their support last year and we will encourage them to do the same again, while the pandemic continues around the world. “

In addition, American plans to open a voluntary early departure program and a long-term voluntary leave program on Friday for its frontline employees based in the United States, excluding pilots.

Employees who are ten or more years old in the workgroup will receive up to $ 150,000 in a retirement health reimbursement package and some travel benefits. Employees who are less than ten years old in the working group will continue to receive active medical coverage and some travel benefits. In the meantime, employees who opt for the extended leave program will be offered one year or 18 months of ongoing medical coverage with active fees, plus some travel benefits and partial payment.

“Obviously, issuing these mandatory WARN notices is not a step we want to take. Tens of thousands of our colleagues have faced extreme uncertainty about their job security in the past 12 months, and this adds to the emotional stress our entire team has faced during an incredibly difficult year, “added the executives. “Please know that we are going to overcome this period and reach a more stable ground – that is certain. And we will continue to fight in every possible way to get there as quickly as possible. Until demand returns and we can provide permanent job stability, we owe transparency. This is what we can offer today and will continue to offer. Thank you for everything you continue to do for each other, our customers and our airline. “

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Parker first announced the license notice last week during the January 28 municipal employee event, according to a recording analyzed by Reuters. Rival United Airlines also made a similar announcement, according to the vehicle, telling employees that license notices would be sent to some 14,000 employees.

Ticker	Safety	Last	change	Change %
AAL	AMERICAN AIRLINES GROUP INC.	17.60	+1.01	+ 6.09%
UAL	UNITED AIRLINES HLDG.	42.04	+1.21	+ 2.96%

The move comes after a less than expected fourth-quarter loss of $ 2.18 billion, or $ 3.81 per share, last week. American’s total operating revenue fell from $ 11.31 billion to $ 4.03 billion, but exceeded Wall Street’s expectations of $ 3.88 billion. The carrier also reported an annual loss of $ 8.9 billion, the largest on record.